Climate Change can lead to humanitarian crisis in 2023

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has released its annual Emergency Watchlist, highlighting the 20 countries most at risk of deteriorating humanitarian crises in 2023.

According to the report, climate change will accelerate humanitarian crises around the world in 2023, adding to issues created by armed conflict and economic downturns.

As per the study, Somalia, Ethiopia and Afghanistan top IRC’s list of countries most at risk of deteriorating humanitarian crises in 2023.
David Miliband, President and CEO of the IRC said, “The Emergency Watchlist shows record levels of humanitarian need in 2022 and real peril ahead for 2023.

“A year ago we diagnosed a global ‘System Failure’ – deficits in respect of state actions, diplomacy, legal rights and humanitarian operations that are driving the increased numbers of people in humanitarian need. Yet humanitarian need, forced displacement and food insecurity have all worsened since then,” he said. This system failure can be seen in this year’s figures: humanitarian need has jumped by 65 million people since last year, displacement has ballooned to over 100 million people.

“The 2023 Watchlist reveals a need for a step change in the way the international community approaches humanitarian crises. At their heart, these are political crises, economic crises, security crises, and climate crises. But the erosion of guardrails meant to address these underlying issues means that humanitarian crises are spiraling. Aid as usual will not meet the moment. The nearly 340 million people who require aid in 2023 need more humanitarian funding for greater and better programs. But they also deserve more. They require a plan to break the cycle of runaway crises. This means new tools to protect people caught up in conflict, and a new commitment to confront – rather than compound- shared global risks,” he stated.